St. Louis Cardinals: Giving the 2019 roster their final letter grades

The 2019 St. Louis Cardinals were an up and down team that ended up better than expected. What grade would each player receive for their 2019 performance?

If I’m honest, the 2019 St. Louis Cardinals won’t be missed. They were a subpar team that happened to get far in the playoffs because of a weak division. At the same time, every team has flaws, and they should be praised because 26 other teams were out before them.

The team in 2019 ended the decade on a happy note but it was not an easy path. More than half of the roster underperformed offensively and it was a year that had some of the highest highs and lowest lows that fans have experienced in the last four years.

Should the team have made it as far as they did? Probably not. They were the least bad team in an NL Central that was mediocre across the board. They seemed allergic to taking hold of a wide-open division until all of a sudden the end of the season was there and they happened to still be in first place despite losing four of their final five games to end the year.

The strong starting rotation and bullpen was constantly undermined by a Jekyll and Hyde offense that put all their eggs in one basket one day then took the next off.

An NL Central crown is still an NL Central crown though so praise is warranted. That is the duality of the 2019 Cardinals. They didn’t deserve to win the NL Central, yet they did. They didn’t deserve to beat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, yet they did.

As a final four team left alive in the NLCS, the streaky Cardinals offense reared it’s ugly head again as the Cardinals were kindly patted on the head then escorted out of the playoff picture by the suffocating pitching of the Washington Nationals.

Again, it was the best year the team had of the last four, but somehow it felt like an awful team, even though it really wasn’t. What grades would we give each player based on their 2019?

Paul Goldschmidt: B

In his first year with the Cardinals, Paul Goldschmidt didn’t do horribly but didn’t do as great as was advertised. Hopefully, the down first half was just nerves from the first season in a new city with a big contract. He still finished 28% lower than his career marks offensively despite hitting 34 homers and driving in 97. He is a definite bounce-back candidate in 2020.

Kolten Wong: A+

2019 was Kolten Wong’s best year in the MLB. Adding to his stellar defense fans have come to expect, his .361 OBP and 24 stolen bases at the top of the lineup provided a great spark. Wong will probably win his first Gold Glove this year and it was great to see the confidence from him both at the plate and in the field that we didn’t see very consistently when former management was in the dugout.

Paul DeJong: B

Paul DeJong had a very odd year. With a stellar 14 DRS at shortstop to go along with 30 homers, surface-level says he was great. Look a little deeper and you see that his .233 average, .318 OBP, and 97 OPS+ suggest he may not have had a great offensive season. Mostly ruined by an awful final two months of the season where he didn’t get any days off, DeJong needs to keep working on his approach as far as taking walks.

Tommy Edman: A+

Tommy Edman was one of the greatest breakout players from 2019. Accumulating a 3.8 bWAR in a half season’s worth of at-bats, Edman likely played his way into a starting role in 2020. The 24-year-old switch hitter can play anywhere in the infield including right field and was above average defensively no matter where he played. Whether or not he can repeat in 2020 is the biggest question.

Matt Carpenter: F

Matt Carpenter decided to use his April and September of 2018 as a plan for 2019. With a .226 batting average and just a .726 OPS, it was an awful year for the veteran. The only positive from the year was his .866 OPS in September which suggests he was breaking out of his slump. As the Cardinals did with Dexter Fowler, they will probably give Carp their confidence in 2020 and hopefully the three-time All-Star rebounds.

Yadier Molina: A-

The A- for Yadier Molina is solely based off of his clutch factor in 2019. His .270 batting average was good but overall, an OPS+ of 85 due to a low OBP and low slugging says it was a below-average year. The 37-year-old catcher proved he can still come up big though as there were many moments where he starred. From the sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley to NLDS Game 4, Molina proved he can still do it when it counts. If he has his clutch factor, Molina will be fine dwindling out his years in Cardinal red.

Matt Wieters: B+

Matt Wieters was the best backup the Cardinals have had at the catching position in a long time and it showed through in 2019. Anytime Molina missed time or needed a day off, it seemed Wieters stepped in without missing a beat. While his numbers don’t look great, for a backup catcher, 11 homers and a .700+ OPS played just fine. He probably priced himself out of the backup salary the team is going to want to pay him but I’d love to see him back next year.

Yairo Munoz: C-

Munoz had a relatively quiet 2019 where he didn’t play much and didn’t produce any when he did. After proving to have some skill with the bat last year, Munoz’s offensive numbers fell in about every category except stolen bases. He played well enough to keep the backup infielder role but really didn’t wow anyone.

Marcell Ozuna: B+

Ozuna had a better year power-wise than he did in 2018 but saw a dip in batting average. He was his usual streaky self but when both he and Goldschmidt got hot in the NLDS at the same time, the offense was POTENT. While there is a lot of discussions to come about whether or not Ozuna should be resigned, we can be happy about his 2019 production regardless of his retention status.

Harrison Bader: D

After all the promise Harrison Bader showed in 2018, he fell apart in 2019. Seemingly forgetting how to hit breaking balls, Bader needed a AAA reset in the middle of the year before he was reinserted in the everyday lineup. While his defense was even better in 2019, his .205 average and 78 OPS+ isn’t going to cut it as an everyday center fielder. Ideally, this was just a sophomore slump and he bounces back. If not, the Cardinals are going to have to shift their plans quickly.

Dexter Fowler: B

There was nothing more that Cardinals fans could ask from Fowler in 2019. A comeback player of the year candidate, his 3.1 bWAR swing from 2018 to 2019 was awesome. He struggled mightily down the stretch and in the postseason, which knocks down his grade a little bit, but with career highs in homers and RBIs, it was great to see the Cardinals’ faith in him pay off.

Jose Martinez: C-

During the regular season, Jose Martinez was a shell of what we’d seen of him in the past. With a 70 point drop in his OPS, he didn’t hit for average or power while being an even worse defender in right field than usual. The only thing that keeps him from being a D+ is his postseason performance where he hit .500 in 10 at-bats and kept the Cardinals from being embarrassed even more in the NLCS. He is a DH on an NL team and should probably be moved this offseason.

Tyler O’Neill: C

As the guy who predicted that Tyler O’Neill would lead the team in homers at the beginning of the season, I was pretty disappointed with his 2019. Not that he did poorly, it’s just that he didn’t really play. For the month where he did get time during Ozuna’s hand injury, he hit .301 with a .823 OPS but didn’t get many chances after Ozuna’s return. It’s all about playing time for O’Neill as he is still just an unknown commodity.

 Randy Arozarena: A+

The Majors were not a fair assessment of Arozarena’s 2019. Likely to win some minor league awards, Arozarena led AAA Memphis with his offense during his time there yet was relegated to a nonexistent bench role when he was brought up. He did bat .300 with a .891 OPS in his 23 at-bats which was good enough to get the sparkplug onto the postseason roster where he went hitless in two plate appearances. I would hope he gets more of a look for an outfield spot in 2020.

Lane Thomas: A+

Another player in the managerial dog house for no reason, Thomas had an OPS just under 1.100 in 2019 and spent months sitting on the bench even though he made the most of every opportunity. A wrist injury ruined his chances to contribute down the stretch and, as with Arozarena, should get a better look in 2020 for a bigger role.

Carlos Martinez: A-

Many may gripe with this grade, but he earned it in 2019. After moving to the bullpen due to frustrating circumstances, Martinez was a weapon for Mike Shildt all year. When Jordan Hicks went down with his injury, Martinez was an elite-level closer down the stretch. He struggled in the playoffs, but overall a very solid year for the pitcher.

Andrew Miller: C-

After signing the best reliever on the market this offseason, the Cardinals and their fans had understandably high expectations for the lefty. Miller’s negative WAR and 97 ERA+ was not what the Cardinals expected in 2019 from him and so he doesn’t get a good grade. He appeared in the most games of any reliever and was dominant at times, but when he blew up, he blew up. All the team can hope is that he bounces back in 2020.

John Brebbia: B

John Brebbia was finally put into a bigger role in the bullpen after being on the Memphis shuttle for years. He responded to his 66 appearances with a 3.59 ERA and while he got burnt out at the end of the season from the usage, he proved he can be a reliable reliever in the future.

John Gant: B

John Gant is in the same boat as Brebbia. After not having any role, Gant turned a strong spring into a great season, especially in the first half. He didn’t have the same level of late-season resurgence Brebbia had, but still, both John’s of the bullpen proved to be reliable late-inning relievers.

Tyler Webb: B

Tyler Webb is the whipping boy of the team but after 2019, he shouldn’t be. Webb proved to be a sneaky good reliever, putting up a 3.76 ERA over 65 appearances and was 14% above average. As a waiver acquisition, there isn’t more you could ask from the guy and he has more than earned another shot with the team.

Giovanny Gallegos: A+

The breakout reliever of the year, Gallegos made the Luke Voit trade a wash, finishing with a higher bWAR than the slugging first baseman. Accumulating 2.2 WAR as a reliever, Gallegos’ 2.31 ERA over 66 appearances should earn him a more prominent role in the bullpen. He was the firefighter, the rally breaker, and the show stopper. Any time Shildt, needed a big out, Gallegos was his guy and the majority of the time, he came through.

Ryan Helsley: A-

Helsley finally got a taste of the Majors in 2019 and made the most of it. The rookie put up a sub-3.0 ERA over 24 appearances and slowly worked his way into a couple of higher leverage situations. His regular season performance led to a trip to the postseason with the team where he kept on performing, even on the biggest stage. I would love to see Helsley go back to starting in 2020 with his 100 mph fastball.

Dominic Leone: D

2019 was a year Leone wants to forget. Between injury and a 5.53 ERA over 40 appearances, Leone just wasn’t good and spent a lot of time in the Minors before being left off of the postseason roster. He is arbitration-eligible in 2020 so he will still be under contract, but don’t expect Leone to be a huge part of the team’s plans.

There were a couple of relievers left off of this list but there were so many, I figure you just want the article to be over at this point. Anyway, it was a great year in 2019 and while the hitters underperformed, the pitching (who are all being retained) picked up the slack which should get you excited about what’s in store for 2020.